Police identify one suspect as girl, 10, clings to life

A Milwaukee Public School employee uses a power washer Thursday to spray down the asphalt at the playground at Clarke Street Elementary School, where 10-year-old Sierra Guyton was caught in the cross-fire of a shootout the evening before. Credit: Mike De Sisti

Milwaukee police on Thursday identified one of two suspects believed to have been involved in a shootout that gravely wounded 10-year-old Sierra Guyton on her school playground.

As of Thursday evening, they had made no arrests.

The Clarke Street Elementary School third-grader remained in critical condition, according to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

"She's a very strong kid, so I hope that plays a part in her getting better," the girl's father, Onjuan Guyton, said. "I just hope my baby pulls through."

However, he described her condition as brain dead. "At the end of the day, I don't think she's going to make it," he said.

Guyton was working at Walmart at Southgate on Wednesday evening when the shooting happened. Family members were able to see Sierra about 3 a.m. Thursday after surgery, though doctors were unable to remove all of a bullet that hit her, he said.

As his daughter clung to life, he reflected on the senselessness of the shooting.

Sierra was wounded about 7 p.m. on the playground of her school at N. 28th and W. Clarke streets. Milwaukee police said two people began shooting at each other, and the girl was caught in the crossfire.

Neighbors and family recalled Thursday that just before the shooting, men were sitting on some steps near the playground. A car pulled up, and shots were fired. The shots continued as one of the adults ran across the playground.

Erica Edwards, whose 8- and 6-year-old sons were on the playground, said she frantically located her boys. Then she saw her cousin Sierra, in dark blue capris and a red shirt, on the ground near a bench.

"My other cousin was holding her head" until the paramedics arrived, Edwards said.

On Thursday, Milwaukee Public Schools provided support for students, and the school day proceeded as close to normal as possible, spokesman Tony Tagliavia said in an email. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of our student," he said.

Flynn, Barrett respond

"It's not enough to complain about our tactics," the chief said. "It's not enough to tell us we're putting too many people in jail. We need you, the community, to help us solve this crime and to tell your young men to put the guns down."

He also urged lawmakers to make it a felony to illegally carry a firearm. Under state law, unless a person is a felon, illegally carrying a firearm is a misdemeanor no matter how many times the person is caught.

Flynn often has spoken of changing criminals' mental calculation, saying that now it is more dangerous for them to be caught without their gun in Milwaukee than with it. On Wednesday, he called for a law "that makes these little monsters afraid to get locked up for possessing a gun. I need felony time for a felony crime of illegally carrying a firearm."

"This was not a problem with police presence," Barrett said Thursday. "This was not an issue of technology not working. But there has to be a moral compass, and the moral compass is missing for these young people, and this is a concern that we have in the city right now."

There has to be a collective cry of "No!" when it comes to the violence, he said.

"It's going to take people to be as angry about this as anything in their lives," Barrett said.

Police presence

Nevertheless, adding more police to the streets is what Michael Crivello, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, has in mind. Just hours before the shooting, Crivello called on Barrett to stop furloughing officers and fill officer vacancies on the police force.

"It is time for a well-defined plan, including a clear and factual message from the mayor's office," Crivello said.

Crivello credited Barrett for hiring 120 officers this year — an estimated 48 more officers are expected to be on the streets in July — but noted they were not in addition to the authorized full strength of the force.

"Mr. Mayor, stop furloughing your officers. Fill the vacancies and demonstrate that these men and women truly matter," Crivello said. "Too many officers are routinely injured when working alone. Two-man squads and beats are safer and more productive; both equate to greater community care/service."

Ald. Bob Donovan, a frequent critic of the mayor on law enforcement issues, also called on Barrett this week "to develop a vision, strategy and plan for public safety in Milwaukee." He argues the force is stretched too thin.

Barrett and his office counter that the city has a relatively high number of officers per capita compared with other large cities with large police forces.

A story in this month's issue of Governing magazine — analyzing 2012 FBI data — said Milwaukee had 31.8 officers per 10,000 residents, making it the ninth highest in the country with police forces of 1,800 officers or more. The same data showed police agencies serving jurisdictions with populations exceeding 50,000 employed an average of 17 officers per 10,000 residents.

Patrick Curley, Barrett's chief of staff, noted Thursday that the addition of as many as 120 officers over a period of months this year comes as the city has eliminated about 400 full-time general city jobs, saving $32 million. During that same period, the budget for the Police Department — $244 million this year — has been increased.

So far in 2014, there have been fewer homicides and nonfatal shootings in Milwaukee than during the same period in 2013. The year-to-date homicide total is 24, compared with 29 at this point in 2013; police have investigated 136 nonfatal shootings, compared with 140 at this point last year.

Losing the future

Sierra is the second child in about a week to be wounded by gunfire. On May 14, an 11-year-old girl and a 29-year-old man were wounded when they were shot in an alley in the 4000 block of N. 25th St., police said. Both survived.

Further, in the last month, six children were shot and brought to Children's Hospital, said Toni Rivera-Joachin, counseling manager for Project Ujima.

Project Ujima, a collaboration between Children's Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, serves about 300 youth victims of assault, including about 80 firearm victims, each year. The program provides crisis intervention, case management including home visits, mental health services, youth development and family support.

Children who experience the trauma of a gunshot injury can react in a variety of ways, Rivera-Joachin said. Some are very angry, prompting outbursts or aggressive behavior. Others are withdrawn and quiet. Still others are somewhere in the middle. Many children develop post-traumatic stress disorder in the weeks after the shooting; physical injuries — such as paraplegia — have a direct impact on mental health as well.

Last year, 12% of the city's 532 nonfatal shooting victims were age 17 or younger. The youngest was 4 years old, according to the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission's annual report. A 2-year-old boy was wounded this year when gunshots were fired into his home, hitting the toddler while he watched TV.

"One of the areas where we're struggling in Milwaukee is figuring out where do we need to put our energies in order to really see an impact," Rivera-Joachin said. "It really has to be the people in the community to rise up and say, 'Enough is enough.' We can't afford to lose any more children. We are losing the potential for the future to gun violence on the streets of Milwaukee."

Anyone with information about the playground shooting is asked to call Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360.